Diretmoides pauciradiatus
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Beryciformes
Diretmidae (Spinyfins)
Diretmoides
Diretmoides pauciradiatus
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
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Characters
Compressed and elliptical in lateral profile, with very large eyes, three to six bony ridges on operculum, and relatively short pelvic fins. Snout is blunt. Mouth is very oblique, and lower jaw extends beyond upper jaw as projecting knob. Jaw teeth are small, pointed, and arranged in double or triple rows. Maxilla is broad posteriorly and extends to posterior margin of eye. Orbital bones form thin, bony flange along anterior and posterior margins of eye. Frontal bone has spiny ridges forming shallow cavities. Operculum is thin, with radiating ridges. Gill rakers on first arch are short, and number 4 or 5 on epibranch and 7 to 10 on lower limb. Head length is 34% to 40%, orbit diameter is 12.6% to 17.3%, maxillary length is 22.4% to 28.6%, interorbital width is 5.1% to 10.5%, and body depth is 52.3% to 75.6% of SL. Pectoral fin has 16 to 19 rays. Dorsal fin has evenly convex margin and 24 to 26 rays. Anal fin is similar in shape to dorsal fin and has 18 to 21 rays. Vertebrae number 26 to 29, with 12 to 14 pre-haemal vertebrae. Preanal scutes are larger than postanal scutes, and postanal scutes number 9 to 12.
Color is silvery in small specimens and black in large specimens. Juveniles have large, brownish blotch on flank.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it occurs from the east coast of Florida to the southern and western Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Tropical to temperate seas, between the surface and 200 m (juveniles) or to 600 m (adults)
Biology
Maximum known size is 370 mm SL.
Mesopelagic. Young near the surface while aged adults often descend below 1,000 m depth (Ref. 2683). Largest adults may be benthopelagic (Ref. 9851). Plankton-eaters like the other members of the family (Ref. 6744). Breed all year round (Ref. 6744). Minimum depth range taken from Ref. 27000.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-05-21.
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of potential interest.
References
Woods and Sonoda 1973
Post and Quero 1981
Uyeno et al. 1983
Post 1986b
Post, A. (1990) Diretmidae. p. 623-624. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Post, A. (1986) Diretmidae. p. 743-746. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Kotlyar, A.N. (1988) Classification and distribution of fishes of the family Diretmidae (Beryciformes). Vopr. Ikhtiol. 27(6):883-897. [1987] (In Russian, English translation in J. Ichthyol. 28(2):1-15).
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Hureau, J.-C. and T. Monod (eds.) (1979) Supplement. Check-list of the fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean. p.339-394. In J.-C. Hureau and Th. Monod (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean.United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France. Vols 1-2. 683 p.
Comments On Diretmoides pauciradiatus